I Write About Books and Things: Berlin, Day 4 - 17/11/19 - Checkpoint Charlie and the East Side Gallery

Today, I went to Checkpoint Charlie, which is someone I've wanted to see for a while, and I went around the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. The fall of the Berlin Wall is my answer to the question "What moment in history would you most like to witness?" After a brief stop back at my hotel room for a rest, which was honestly much needed, I went out again for dinner and drinks.
I stopped first for breakfast this morning, in a small café called Distrikt Coffee, in the Mitte district. It was just one station away from the Hauptbahnhof, at Pappelplatz. I was glad I'd decided to have a good breakfast before heading off to Checkpoint Charlie. I got there at 10, closer to a brunch time, to keep me going for the rest of the day.

French toast, caramelised walnuts, blueberry compote and creme fraiche with a cappuccino!

Had to get an iconic shot, showing the "You are Leaving the American Sector" sign.

I was glad that I'd stopped for breakfast earlyish that morning, as the Checkpoint Charlie Museum (or Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, Mauermuseum) was huge. Every spare space of wall is covered by something to read, and even though it was translated into four languages, that was still a lot of writing in English.

It was also one of the most powerful areas I visited in Berlin. We cannot afford to forget that many people died as a direct result of crossing the wall. The area is often considered a tourist attraction, but I feel it would be better termed a site of education. It is not something we can allow to happen again, especially as this wall directly divided families.

One of the people who I learnt about was Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat in Hungary from Sweden during the Second World War, who saved Jewish lives by providing them with passports and sheltering them in Swedish official buildings. Estimates of the number of lives he saved are "tens of thousands." However, he disappeared in 1945 under suspicion of espionage and while his fate is still unknown, he is thought to have died by execution two years later, in Moscow.

There was a room with an exhibition on conditions in North Korean labour camps, currently. The fact that still today there is so much of this in the world chills me right to the bone.

One of the interesting things I picked up was that a common way to try and cross was to get hold of a US Army uniform, then go across nonchalantly. However, the Soviet soldiers were trained to spot this deception - US Army guards were instructed to act as if the Soviets weren't there, so if someone crossing responded even to a wave, it would reveal their identity.

I bought a piece of the Berlin Wall to take home as a souvenir for my father. I did some research on these, actually. There was so much of the Berlin Wall that any you find is likely a real piece from it, and it is practically worthless in monetary terms, with the materials not being valuable either. But as something you can bring home from a trip as a part of history, it's worth a lot more. Most colourings to them were likely added later, to simulate the spray-painted graffiti effect. Even with that in mind, and with how much of it is out there all around the world, I'd still consider it one of the most unique souvenirs you can pick up from anywhere. I also felt that picking mine up from here meant that at least some of the money would go back into educating people that this is not a part of history that we should repeat.

Once outside, I walked into a small exhibition next door, called BlackBox Cold War. This focused mostly on images. I appreciated the chance to sit down - they had many short documentaries playing, so I took a moment to watch them. While it wasn't expensive, I did still think it was rather small.

After, I found my way to the East Side Gallery. It's a part of the Berlin Wall which is still standing, and has been turned into an outside art gallery by use of graffiti. Germany has long been using graffiti as art or to make a political statement, and many of these images speak for themselves.

This was a long day, all told, with a lot of walking and travelling around as well. It was quite late by the time I got back to the hotel, and I hadn't found time to stop for lunch. I decided to have a small amount of time to chill and process, before going back out for dinner.

This is where I have to again mention the odd dichotomy of Berlin - it asks you to both have a good time and to remember it's history. These aren't mutually exclusive, and I think I struck a balance. At least, I struck a good balance that worked for me. People do have personal and self-care needs while travelling, and that's important to remember no matter where you are in the world.

I went to a place called BrewDog, again in the Mitte district. In fact, it was visible from the train station I used earlier, Pappelplatz, a street away from where I'd had breakfast. I wanted to go somewhere where I could try beer, as I don't drink it much, but coming to Berlin and not having one felt strange. I explained that I wasn't much of a beer drinker, so could they recommend one? I liked that they gave me a small amount to try, first. BrewDog caters largely to the population of long-term British residents in Berlin, so it feels familiar but not too touristy.

I also ordered wings, as by this point I was getting hungry. However, I thought this
portion was a little small - a side of chips (fries) would have gone a long way.
They were tasty, but bear in mind if you order them, you may want something else with them.

I've never drunk too much on my solo travel trips. I haven't wanted to lose my sense of place while in an unfamiliar city, so this was rather different for me, requiring me to stay within my limits. I made my way to Alexanderplatz, to try the Berlin IceBar! It was something highly different, and I paid €17 for entry, but that also gave me three drinks while I was there. I've known places charging that for entry without drinks. I would say definitely a tourist spot, but fun to do. I do like to mix up tourist areas with more local places on holiday. I started with a mojito, my go-to cocktail, in the warmer section of a bar, before I was taken through with a small group into the ice section. We were provided with a warm coat and gloves.

One of the good things I found with being in a bar by myself was than when I got cold and my feet hurt, I could leave of my own accord. I'm not too much of a bar/club girl anyway, so this was a nice benefit.

It was also recommended since when I stepped back outside, it felt more like summer in Spain then November in Berlin!

There were many ice sculptures around, and my drink was
even in an ice glass! This is a vodka orange.

The other good thing was that the 245 goes directly from Alexanderplatz to my hotel, so getting home wasn't too much bother. Home again and in the warm, I went almost straight to bed.